You are here

Industrial development to target GM suppliers

Industrial development to target GM suppliers

A development targeted at automotive suppliers is being planned for this parcel of land at the intersection of Cleburne Road and Beechcroft Road. The General Motors plant, which can be seen in the background, is across the CSX railroad tracks from the property. (Staff photo by Kate Coil)

Spring Hill leaders got their first look at the site plan for an automotive parts manufacturer considering a move to the area.

The site plan and building design for the facility — code named “Project Angus” by economic development officials — on a 162-acre parcel at the intersection of Beechcroft and Cleburne roads was presented to the Spring Hill Planning Commission during its work session meeting Monday.

The planning commission voted unanimously to approve the sketch plat for the development during a special-called meeting Monday, but during the following work session, City Engineer Jerome Dempsey said he found the building design and site plan submitted for approval lacking.

Project manager R.J. Agee addressed the board on behalf of NorthPoint Development, the Missouri-based company developing the site, and said the company is interested in an accelerated approval process. He said the company also misinterpreted the requirements for the site plan.

“This project has been very fast moving for us,” Agee said. “Since we finally received the letter of intent, it’s been go, go, go.”

Initial plans call for the development of a 122,500-square-foot facility, but Agee said the facility is designed to be expanded in the future if the occupant so desires. The site plan also calls for 90 employee parking spaces, which Agee said would be used by two shifts of workers.

Agee said he could not discuss the specifics about the potential tenant or the deadline for the building’s construction because of confidentiality agreements. However, he said the hope is the process will move quickly, he said.

“We are under a time crunch,” Agee said. “It’s an interesting scenario with suppliers because they get a set date for when they have to supply parts, so you work backward for that.”

Agee said plans call for between four and five buildings to be constructed at the Project Angus site, and NorthPoint Development is marketing each building to a different supplier.

“The first building we have a tenant, but there is potential and plans for future buildings,” he said. “We have some prospects, but the first building is what we have the tenant for.”

The site is being mainly marketed to GM suppliers, though Agee said it is also possible spaces could be leased to secondary suppliers or even non-automotive manufacturers.

“Obviously, due the proximity to the plant, our No. 1 priority is the GM Tier I suppliers. You could end up with a Tier II situation where you have a supplier to a supplier. There is also always the chance that someone completely unrelated to the auto industry could be interested, and we won’t turn them down.”

Agee said a turn lane at Beechcroft for the development as well as a connector road have also been discussed to make it easier for trucks to move in and out of the property. He said the turn lane is preferred by the developer, but a connector could be built at a later date.

“When we are starting to look at 20 trucks an hour coming to the plant, we will look at it then,” Agee said. “This is something that will continue to be developed.”

Commissioner Charlie Schoenbrodt said he was a little concerned about the truck traffic the development would generate. He said trucks would potentially be traveling daily from the Angus Development property, onto Beechcroft, down Town Center Parkway and then down to Highway 31 before they turn into the GM plant.

“The turn center radius on that coming onto Town Center Parkway is going to be very tight to me, and going onto Main Street is going to be tight,” Schoenbrodt said.

GM Spring Hill Plant Communications Manager Kristy Bergstorm said the company is unable to comment on the potential development at this time.

“We’re delighted that the supplier community is thinking about the future, but we cannot comment on any commitments at this time,” she said.

Maury County Chamber and Economic Alliance President Wil Evans said the new development offers great potential for the entire county.

“We are always excited to work with a project such as this,” Evans said. “It has great opportunities both related and potentially unrelated to General Motors and the community. Any additional property to have to market to industrial and commercial tenants is welcome.”

Rules for posting comments

Comments posted below are from readers. In no way do they represent the view of Stephens Media LLC or this newspaper. This is a public forum.

Comments may be monitored for inappropriate content but the newspaper is under no obligation to do so. Comment posters are solely responsible under the Communications Decency Act for comments posted on this Web site. Stephens Media LLC is not liable for messages from third parties.

IP and email addresses of persons who post are not treated as confidential records and will be disclosed in response to valid legal process.

Do not post:

Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.

Obscene, explicit, or racist language.

Copyrighted materials of any sort without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Personal attacks, insults or threats.

The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.

Comments unrelated to the story.

If you believe that a commenter has not followed these guidelines, please click the FLAG icon below the comment.